New York (AFP) – Frances Tiafoe set up an all-American US Open semi-final against Taylor Fritz on Tuesday, guaranteeing a home player in the men’s final for the first time in 18 years. Tiafoe, the 20th seed, progressed after ninth-ranked Grigor Dimitrov suffered an injury in the third set of their quarter-final and quit in the fourth with the score at 6-3, 6-7 (5/7), 6-3, 4-1.
Tiafoe also made the semi-finals in 2022 while Fritz reached his first Grand Slam last-four by earlier defeating 2020 runner-up and fourth-ranked Alexander Zverev 7-6 (7/2), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/3). Dimitrov, 33, playing in his first US Open semi-final since 2019, hurt himself in the third set before leaving the court to seek treatment. The Bulgarian returned in a desperate attempt to continue the match but was reduced to walking pace as his hopes slipped away.
“It’s not the way I wanted to win even if I’m happy to get through to the semi-finals,” said Tiafoe. “It was a very high-level match. You’re going to see me against another American, it’s going to be great. It will be the biggest match of our careers; we’ve known each other since we were 14.”
Andy Roddick was the last American man to win a Grand Slam title when he claimed the 2003 US Open. He was also the last home player to make a final in New York when he was defeated by Roger Federer in the 2006 championship match. Friday’s semi-final between Tiafoe and Fritz will be the first all-American men’s singles last-four clash since Andre Agassi defeated Robby Ginepri at the 2005 US Open.
Tiafoe broke Dimitrov for a 3-2 lead in the first set before sealing it on a fourth set point. The American stretched to a 3-1 advantage in the second before Dimitrov clawed his way back in the seventh game. In a bizarre conclusion to the set, Dimitrov served double faults on two of his three set points. Tiafoe then mirrored his rival, double-faulting on the third to square the quarter-final at a set apiece. That was as good as it got for Dimitrov, whose challenge fizzled out once he was injured in the third.
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